Angels Grace
by UuGgHh its Bryan
Summary: /One-shot/ What happens in that darkness, when we hit rock bottom? What is it that propells us out of that black void? Is it our inner strength, or the darkness itself, that let's us survive?


This has been sitting in my documents and I really just wanted to put it out there.

Sorry if it's completely terrible, but it's just a little one-shot I guess.

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><p>Time is always that one aspect of life that seems to escape me the most. True, there are always those other emotions that flee the mind before you can truly grasp and understand them…but time, for me, is the worst. When I'm with these people all around me…that is when I truly lose myself in them, in time. It feels like seconds turn into minutes, and minutes form into hours…why? I don't understand it all that much, but in the end, what do I understand about life in this world? The human world is much different from my own…and even though I've had time to adjust and live like all the rest of the humans and mamodo's…it's still different and foreign to me. Every day I watch Megumi do her hair and prepare for shows and concerts…and what do I do? I follow her around…sort of like I have no purpose, like I have nothing left to do with my life. It's not surprising to me, considering this is what Zatch is forced to do with Kiyo…and probably what everyone else has to do, but still, things tend to get lonely after a while.<p>

I hate this war so much. I hate every aspect about it. I hate burning books. I hate having to protect Megumi, a frail human being, with everything I've got. Don't get me wrong, I love being her friend and I love that I can be there to protect her…but she's so innocent. She shouldn't have to deal with this. I can only imagine how much happier Megumi would be if she didn't have me as a partner. If she hadn't of found me all those years ago, standing in the rain…god why did she have to? She should have just left me there and walked by like all the other humans! I blame myself though. I am not only weak, but I look it too. My attack spells are pathetic, my body is weaker than most other mamodo's…I don't understand why such a good person like her is stuck with such a weak partner as myself. I can barely do anything when I fight. All I can do is put up shields and use all my will so they won't break. Have you ever felt like a burden? Like you are nothing but trouble for all the people you surround? Well, yeah, that's me for you. Stupid little Tia, can't do anything besides run and hide…yep, that's me.

But this time will be different. Now, as I stand here surrounded by everyone…surrounded by my friends who can no longer stand to fight, I will fight for them. I will be the one to protect and save the people I hold close to me. It's such an…odd…feeling, to be in the midst of danger and violence, and yet feel so calm. I can feel my heart throbbing gently in my chest. I can hear the pulse in my ears as blood courses through my veins. I can even feel the cold sweat dripping down the back of my neck. Demolt is practically a sky scraper compared to me. He is so huge, so ferocious…this will be the end for me if I'm not careful, and I know it. I was trying to remember all his spells so I could stay prepared, but my mind won't remember anything right now, and I can only focus on the thing right in front of me; Demolt.

_"Ma Se Shield!"_I raise my hands as Demolt's claw comes flying abruptly down towards Kiyo and Zatch, because they can't defend right now, so I will. My pink shield is brought up, the small winged center radiating a violet light of sorts. The shield itself is a large disc-like shape, but on the sides it looks like translucent feathers are overflowing. The way I take it, is that it gives the shield more power. Demolt's punch makes direct contact with the shield first, and it sent a quake through the air. H-he is so powerful…but no, I won't lose nerve, not when everyone is counting on me! I can feel my teeth grit together and my feet begin to slide back on the pavement, but I will hold my ground until my book is burned.

His punches don't stop. They just keep coming and coming…and I can feel my shield getting ready to break. But I can't let it…I won't let it. This shield is all I have left in me…it's all I can do to protect my friends, to protect the people I love. It's funny really, how you always do things to keep the people you care about safe…you do these things in order to ensure that no harm will come to them, even if it means putting your own life on the line.

Well here it is, now it's my turn. Now it is my turn to put my life on the line, and I won't fail. I can feel the cracks in my shield…I can feel the amount of damage it is sustaining, and soon it will break, but I'm putting everything into it now. My voice is a high pitched yell of sorts, and right behind me I can hear Megumi yelling as well. My eyes don't falter against the back of the disc, and then…then something happened, that has never happened before. Everything went black…everything besides me, Megumi, and our shield. I look back at her, and she has such a blank look on her face…such a distant look…what is this? My shield has become see-through…and on the other side I see Demolt. I see every single evil thing inside him that I despise so much. The darkness is beginning to fade…and I don't know what's going on. Is this Zofis' doing? Is he behind this? He was the one who brought Demolt back…is this his way of keeping my shield at bay, keeping me from protecting everyone else?

I won't let him.

The entire black is cleared, and then I'm back in reality. My shield has completely cracked and exploded in my face, sending me and Megumi back a few feet. The blackness…it was a warning; it was telling me to hold on, because everything was crumbling.

"Stupid mamodo and your human partners!" Demolt is screaming at us, and then his fist is raised again. I rush to my feet, stumbling lightly before putting my hands up.

"Megumi!" I call out, my voice is in the same candy-sweat trickle it always has been, and before I have a chance to see her, I hear her.

_"Giga La Seoshi!"_My hands glow a light green color, and then the reverse Seoshi is upon Demolt. His fist connects directly with the barrier and he stumbles back. I can't help but let a small, minuscule smile spread across my face; now he is the one trapped like a dog. I watch and hear him as he thrashes around, frantically working to destroy my shield. That's when more of my sweat drops down the front of my face; he will break it, and now it's only a matter of time.

"Laila! Wake Albert up, we can't keep him occupied for much longer!" I yell at her, my voice is frantic and I can tell Laila is seeing the panic in my eyes. The shield is cracking and chipping…the pieces beginning to fall, until the darkness is back. I figured this out now; this is where my final strength emits from; this is where I give everything into the shield to make it stronger.

Well, that didn't help this time. Demolt crushed the shield into mere shards of its former self, and now I can hear his roar echoing throughout all of the open air. Suddenly, I feel like everything is moving in slow motion. Demolt is glowing and my eyes are frozen open. I can tell that everyone, all the people- my friends that I am protecting, are stunned as well. I can't tell why this always happens to me, to everyone. I noticed it happens when I'm scared, when I feel frightened. I seem to freeze up and I can't do much. The last time this happened…the last time it happened, my book was almost burned…but even with that in mind, even as fear envelops and takes over my heart, I still can't move. My hands are shaking in front of me and my whole entire body is quaking. My being…every fiber of myself, it is all being shaken to the core…and I don't know if I'll be able to handle this next attack. I don't know if my shields can handle so much pressure, let alone my own will. Everything is so fragile, and I realize this now. Everything is eventually going to break, it's only a matter of time, and I fear my time is up.

He's rushing us. He is…he's coming so fast; he's moving so fast…w-why can't I do anything? W-why am I f-failing…again? Before I even know it, there are tears running down my cheeks. My face is being stained with the stench and abomination that is salt water. I hate when I cry. It shows weakness and insecurity. But…that's all I really am. I'm just a weak little girl. I can't handle Demolt, and everything he is throwing at me. It just…it won't work! I know it won't, and yet…yet I'm still ready to risk it all. I am determined to protect everyone and make sure no one is hurt, but if I get hurt in the process…than well, that is okay. I am not much of anything in this battle…just a tool really. I'm not strong, I'm not powerful…I can't have much of an impact on anyone besides Megumi because she is my book owner. Sometimes though, I can't help but wonder if Megumi was much better off without me. She could be doing so many more things if I weren't here. If this battle wasn't here obstructing her course in life…but I don't know how to stop caring about her enough to leave. We have grown so close and I refuse to let anything happen to her…but…it's so confusing. I can't concentrate on anything anymore, and at this moment I need to put my concentration to the task at hand; holding back Demolt.

I found that my legs were moving without my consent, and throwing my body just as Demolt's fist came crashing down into the ground, creating a large crater within the earth. I bounded into Megumi and knocked her down, but got up faster, yelling at her over the rumble.

"Megumi! Read the spell!" I could still feel tears rolling down my cheeks, but I didn't care anymore. I didn't care about anything anymore really, because at this very moment…the balance of life and death was hanging above my head. Laila and Albert were right behind me. They were two steps away, and now Megumi was down there too. I could see our book began to glow its odd mixture of pink and orange, mostly orange, and my hands flew up in front of us all. This is where everything goes kind of…fuzzy, for me. I feel like my senses are leaving me. I'm looking to Demolt, who is turning extremely…slow. His body is moving as if one of Brago's spells had been cast upon him, but it wasn't; Brago is nowhere in sight. That's when I realized it; everything was moving slowly once more, and this time it was even more exaggeratedly slow than before. My eyes are taking seconds, maybe a minute to blink, and in the seconds they are submerged within the darkness of my own mind, I see everything.

I see Demolt as he whirls around from his position. I see his partner getting ready to call out a spell. I see Laila and Albert lying on the ground, and Leila is…she's crying and shaking Albert…why is she upset? I look further behind her and see Zatch and Kiyo. They are both exhausted and it's so obvious. Beyond them is Doctor Riddles. I always feel so bad when I look at him…I always feel so much guilt and pain, because he has lost Kiddo, and there is nothing worse than losing a being that was like a son. He is staring me straight in the eye, and I cannot figure out why. I can feel myself becoming flustered, because I don't know why he is staring at me. I don't know why, until I open my eyes back up.

Reality was back, the darkness was gone, and everything was moving normally once more. I don't remember seeing Demolt raise his hand, or hear a spell being called out, but now there was a chain ripping from his hand and heading straight towards us with a jagged peaked edge. I don't have time to look back to Megumi. I have to trust her. I have to trust she will call out a spell. That she will call out something to save us. For some reason I can feel my mouth moving…am i…talking? I can't hear it though. I can't hear myself speaking, or thinking, or anything. But then there is a wall. Seoshi was cast, but I didn't hear Megumi. Why can't I hear anyone? Why can't I hear anything? Was this the point of Demolt's spell? To eliminate my hearing? If it was, why hadn't he used it when fighting all of us? I was so confused, I couldn't believe what was going on, but I had to trust it was going to be okay.

His attack crashed into the bubble put out around us, and a large crack was evident on my shield before the chain swerved away and into the wall, my shield cracking to pieces directly after it. Demolt's mouth begins to move and he is screaming, I can tell because the very ground is shaking beneath me in response to it. Why can't I hear him? I am screaming inside my mind, at the top of my lungs, but yet there is nothing. There seems to be nothing around me, and I don't know why. I'm suddenly out of breath, but, but why? I haven't done anything physical! Of course the shield would take away my strength, but never has it simply winded me before. But then there is someone pulling me, shaking me. I look to the left, and I see Laila. Why is she here…? She is yelling at me, I can tell because of the way her mouth moves…but why can't I hear it? She is shaking me harder and harder, until finally, finally, I hear something.

"Tia!" It was Megumi, and I flew around to see a worried look on her face, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks. I grit my teeth. I turned back to Leila.

"What happened? Why were you screaming? What happened Tia?" She was frantic and I knew I had completely fallen from grace at this point, because apparently my own senses had left me. I shook my head and pushed her away lightly, turning back to the laughing Demolt; his laughter infuriated me, and I don't like getting angry.

"Stay back Laila. Wake up Albert, we need him. Go!" I shouted at her, and saw a small nod from the peripheral of my vision, before I put my hands up.

_"__Dioerumu Zemoruk__!" _I heard the spell called out, and then suddenly Demolt was running towards us, his arm completely engulfed with purple flames. I felt my body tense and my eyes close, getting ready for our shield to go up, but also for it to shatter. I don't know why I always did this. When I was scared, I closed my eyes and hoped for the best…but it was always in vein. It was like that back with Maruss too. I had to have Zatch save me back then though…but now he was nowhere near ready to save me. Now it was up to me, I had to save him, and this was just how things would have to go down. I was scared, to say the least, but there was an odd feeling in my chest. It was like some type of…hope, was it? Hope was swelling up, and I didn't know why. I didn't know why much of anything was happening anymore, so I guess I should jut trust it, right?

Well, trusting it, that was good. There was a reason why I felt secure for some reason, and then I knew why.

_"Chaziru Seoshidon!" _I didn't know when we had got that spell. If it had been sitting in the book, waiting to be used, or if it had just appeared now. New spells could be very good, but also very troublesome as well. I think I knew what this one did, but I couldn't remember clearly. Back in the mamodo world I didn't have knowledge of all the spells I was capable of yet, my mother had yet to teach me one, though I think I might remember her using it once. If I was right, it was some type of shield…fueled by emotions…but I didn't know what kind of emotions yet. So I did what anyone would do, and I focused on protecting everyone. I focused on keeping everyone safe and happy, and then the shield was up.

My jaw hung open lightly and my eyes had grown a fraction of an inch. The whole entire shield was beyond huge, it was past enormous. It looks like there is a woman on top, a goddess of some sort? Her hands connect to the shield and her eyes are closed, but she is bathed within the most brilliant white light surrounded by golden glitter that emanates through the air. There are five fingers shooting out from each side of the shield, and I imagine that was from the goddess. In the middle is the actual shield. It is a large barrier with a bright ruby gem in the middle of it. There seems to be two or three sections, I can't see it well, but I think there are three. The shield is so…so overwhelming, it's so hard to believe that…that I actually summoned it. This will hold of Demolt, I know it will, and my heart is filling with happiness. I can finally smile for once in this whole battle, because I know it will be okay, I know everything will be okay.

Demolt flies smack into the middle of the shield as his hand crashes against it. I am…I'm so shocked right now. He rebounded off the shield…as if…as if his attack was mere child's play to my shield, like it was a simple game. Everyone around me is staring in disbelief; I highly doubt they all thought I could be capable of this…but I am. I am surprised I am capable of it myself, but it's still here, which means I still have to take advantage of it. I smile. For once, this smile is…it's real. I don't know why I'm suddenly okay with this battle…with everything has happened, but yet, I am.

I think it's because I'm so tired of feeling so exposed. I think it's because my shields are all back up, and finally they are holding off the things I don't want to let in, and now there's not so much pressure for everywhere pounding on them. The stronger a shield is, the harder it is to break it, and that's comforting. This shield is…its special though. I can feel it growing and growing, overwhelmed with my instincts to protect and my will to go on. It won't break, and I know that.

I can finally see Laila getting up now. Albert is with her. She smiled at me. This is when I know things will be okay. Leila will help me win, and I won't ever let my shields fall again. I will protect everyone, because everyone has protected me. I won't ever let another ill finger be laid upon them ever again.

I will never be one person, for there is strength in numbers.

Now I will have the strength of one hundred.

And I will never fall again.

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><p>It's just a little drabble, nothing really important about anything. Oh well.<p>

Hope someone out there likes it though~

As always,

Bryan(:


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